Two Rockets Hit Baghdad’s Fortified Green Zone

Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)
Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)
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Two Rockets Hit Baghdad’s Fortified Green Zone

Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)
Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)

Two Katyusha rockets hit Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Iraq's state news agency reported early on Sunday citing security forces.

One rocket was destroyed in the air by the C-RAM defense system and the other landed near the zone's festivals arena damaging two cars, the report added.

Security forces started an investigation to detect the launch site, the agency reported.

A US military official told Reuters that the C-RAM system brought down one of the rounds and none of them landed on the US embassy. The official said there were no American casualties.

The Green Zone hosts foreign embassies, including the US embassy, and government buildings and is regularly the target of rockets fired by groups that US and Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran.

US officials have said Iranian-backed militia could increase attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria in coming weeks, in part to mark the anniversary of the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

The two were killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on Jan. 2, 2020.



Biden and Harris Condemn Hamas on Attack Anniversary, Call for Ceasefire

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One as he departs for South Bend, Indiana from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One as he departs for South Bend, Indiana from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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Biden and Harris Condemn Hamas on Attack Anniversary, Call for Ceasefire

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One as he departs for South Bend, Indiana from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One as he departs for South Bend, Indiana from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, October 5, 2024. (Reuters)

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Hamas on the anniversary of the armed group’s attack on Israel, while reiterating their administration’s commitment to cementing ceasefire deals to end fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.

“On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day,” Biden said in a statement.

The president said that he thinks every day of the more than 100 hostages still in captivity and their families. He vowed that his administration “will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely.”

Biden added that “history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

“It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people,” Harris said. “And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination.”